The Low Carbon Economy Ltd

US scraps world's 'cleanest' coal plant

Federal authorities in the US have withdrawn their support for plans for the world's cleanest coal-fired power plant.

Energy Department officials confirmed that it was pulling out of the FutureGen project, following reports that the cost of building the plant had doubled from an initial $900 million (£450 million).

With the agency set to cover 74 per cent of the total costs, Reuters reported that it had put an end to its five-year commitment to the scheme.

"Quite simply the financing approach advanced by the [FutureGen] Alliance would place the interests of US taxpayers at risk to that of private mortgage holders," deputy energy secretary, Clay Sell, told the website.

In the wake of the announcement, the department revealed that it instead planned to back multiple projects utilising carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

It added that it would only fund the CCS aspect of these developments, and not the total cost of the plant construction.